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the items in its sub-menu, and the first paragraph or so from each sub-menu item. Unfortunately, because my website uses "frames," I cannot provide links to specific items listed below. When you are ready to enter the rest of my site, click the above link. Thanks.

This Website

Welcome
Welcome to my website, where you will find some of my better ("least bad") games along with my commentary, as well as advice on middlegame play and some of my monumental (some would say "bizarre") opening ideas.

Your Privacy
At DavidLevinChess.com, we respect your privacy and pledge the following:

Selected Questions and Answers Modified 10/7/16
If you have a question about any of the content of this website, feel free to email me at webpatzer@davidlevinchess.com . I will attempt to personally reply to all email. However, I am best equipped to address questions about the content of this website. If you ask me some other question about opening theory, books, authors, or great players, my answer will probably be, "I don't know, but here's my guess..."

Glossary of Chess Terms Modified 2/4/14
Each of these chess terms appears in my books or articles. When a chess term or one of its forms (such as its plural) is part of a definition, it is in italics.

Added 10/24/14
Just posted under Instruction on this website: Display Diagram-Pairs for Your Game Score.

Added 8/15/14
Just posted under Instruction on this website: How to Play through a Game's Pawn Structures.

Added 6/18/14
Audio of my song Lizard in My Living Room is now available.

Added 2/4/14
Just posted under Instruction on this website: Part 3 of To Plan for the Middlegame, Read the Pawn Structure.

Added 1/27/14
Audio of my "cover" song The Little Old Lady (from Pasadena) is now available at iTunes, amazon, and many other sources.

Added 1/15/14
A review of my e-book Position and Pawn Tension in Chess has been posted at chesscafe.com .

Added 7/26/13
Audio of my song Collapse Like a House of Cards is now available at iTunes, amazon, and many other sources.

David H. Levin

Personal Chess Milestones Updated 3/3/14
Some milestones in my chess career (using the term loosely, of course):

Professional Background Updated 3/3/14
I work primarily as a freelance editor/proofreader. My previous work experience was as a systems engineer in the telecommunications industry. I hold a Bachelor of Arts in computer science and mathematics from Rutgers College and a Master of Science in computer science / computer engineering from Stanford University.

Betaneli-Levin, 1993 U.S. Open
1. c4 e6 2. g3 d5 3. Bg2 c5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. O-O Nf6 6. d3 Be7 7. Na3 O-O 8. Nc2 e5 9. Ne3 d4 10. Nc2 Bf5
The game has transposed precisely into a Benoni with colors reversed, White having lost two moves with his Queen's knight and Black having expended an extra move with his e-pawn. My experience having indicated that the Benoni is difficult for Black to handle, I was happy to effectively have White in this opening.

Levin-Koval, 1996 New Jersey Open
1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 d5 3. c4 e6 4. g3 c5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 cxd4 7. O-O
The d-pawn will not run away. White avoids the possibility of simplification by ...Bb4+. Not that this would have been bad for White, but it's one fewer thing to have to think about.

Alekhine Defense, 3.Nc3
1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. Nc3 e6 4. Nxd5 exd5 5. Qf3. Theory now gives the pedestrian 5...c6. Yet it may seem unjust for Black to be relegated to this move, given that his development has been no less rapid than White's. Indeed, Black has available a dynamic alternative. 5...Nc6

Bridge Puzzles for Children (paperback)
Bridge Puzzles for Children by David H. Levin, published in March 2004, is subtitled Simple Card Play Problems to Introduce Them to This Wonderful Game. Its intended audience is children ages 8 through 13 who have had little or no prior exposure to contract bridge. 128 pages, 5 3/8" x 8 1/2", list price of $14.95, ISBN 0-9638001-2-4.

Chess Puzzles for Children (paperback) No longer available
Chess Puzzles for Children by David H. Levin, published in 1994, is a book of simple chess teasers. Its intended audience is ages 8 through 13. 128 pages, 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", list price of $11.95, ISBN 0-9638001-1-6.

Chess Strategy for Children (e-book)
Chess Strategy for Children by David H. Levin is an e-book in the form of a "pdf" file. It can be opened (read) using Adobe Reader or other freely available software. (Click here to display the cover page as a "jpg" image, or here to download a pdf file containing two sample pages from the text.)

Position and Pawn Tension in Chess (paperback)
Position and Pawn Tension in Chess by David H. Levin, published in 1993, is a middle game manual with a list price of $13.95. 128 pages, 5 1/2" x 8 1/2", ISBN 0-9638001-0-8. (Note: there's a discounted price for "hurt" copies. For details, click on "Availability" under "Published Books Menu.")

Position and Pawn Tension in Chess (e-book)
This e-book is a faithful re-creation of my paperback Position and Pawn Tension in Chess (also given in the Published Books and E-books Menu). I have made changes only to correct spelling, grammar, diagrams, and a few other minor things.

Recorded Music
I have made and released recordings of the following songs:

Availability
My e-books are available from the following:

Instruction

How I Teach
My style of teaching is to very rarely give direct information to a student. Instead, I'll ask a series of impromptu questions which enables the student to make the discovery. This fosters a much greater depth of understanding than if the teacher were to simply recite a fact.

Pricing
Cost: $25 per half-hour, with a half-hour minimum. Time beyond a half-hour would be charged in proportion, e.g., $37.50 for 45 minutes, $50 for one hour.

A Game with My Moves Explained Added 1/28/11
Most commentary on chess games (including my own commentary) seems to assume that the reader has considerable chess knowledge. This article, in contrast, attempts to provide explanations that might satisfy even readers who are fairly new to the game. I have assumed knowledge only of the rules, of each square's being designated by letter/number, of the relative value of the pieces, and of the need to generally not remain behind in material. Terms often found in chess writings are in italics and used in contexts that hopefully allow the reader to understand them.

Helpful Hints
One thing that helped me progress was to keep a running list of things I learned from my games. Rereading the list occasionally, helped these things sink in to where they'd start automatically popping into my head whenever they'd apply to a move or plan I was contemplating.

Display Diagram-Pairs for Your Game Score Added 10/24/14
I've created a tool that will take the input game score in portable game notation (PGN—a form of Algebraic Notation that omits the square where the chessman came from) and produce diagram-pairs as suggested in my article How to Play through a Game's Pawn Structures. It produces each diagram by deriving the associated Forsyth-Edwards notation (FEN) and then feeding it to Steve Eddins's Chess Imager.

To Plan for the Middlegame, Read the Pawn Structure
One of the most underappreciated yet vital aspects of chess is how to decide on a plan for the middlegame.

To Plan for the Middlegame, Read the Pawn Structure (Part 2)
This article further examines how to formulate a middle game plan according to where one possesses an advantage in space.

To Plan for the Middlegame, Read the Pawn Structure (Part 3) Added 2/4/14
Parts 1 and 2 of this series addressed how to formulate a middlegame plan by comparing how much space each player has along each file. (Italicized terms are defined in the "Glossary of Chess Terms," accessible from this website's "This Website" menu.)

How to Play through a Game's Pawn Structures Added 8/15/14
When playing over a published game in order to learn from it, it can be difficult to discern the players' long-term strategies or to realize how the result of the game might have been largely due to a move that was made in the opening or early middlegame.

How to Play when Ahead in Material Added 12/9/11
When a player has achieved a material advantage, the person may feel that he or she deserves to win. This often makes the player get careless and perhaps even lose.

"The Evans' Method" by Larry D. Evans
(Note: This piece first appeared in the (NJ) Castled King, Sept.-Oct. 1977. I was so impressed with it, I transcribed it! Many thanks to IM Evans for his support. - DHL)

Assorted Musings

Introduction
Here you will find brief pieces I've written on subjects other than chess.

Charles Darwin's "Extraordinary Adaptation" Added 4/5/15
Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species (sixth edition) does not explain how systems in organisms (such as for reproduction) could have come about through evolution. However, an excellent model for exploring this matter is the genus coryanthes (bucket orchid), which Darwin characterizes as an "extraordinary adaptation."

Other Websites

Chess Sites
Click on one of the following categories to scroll quickly to the websites in that category:
General Interest
Official bodies at the national level and above
State bodies within the United States

How to Donate
If you would like to donate to help with the expenses in operating this website, here are the payment methods we accept:

Check or Money Order
To donate by check or money order (in US funds), please make it out to "David H. Levin" and mail it to the following address:

PayPal
To donate through PayPal, please specify
spress (at) dnet.net
as the recipient.

Contact Us

How To
Email:
webpatzer (at) davidlevinchess.com

Expected Turnaround
I will endeavor to respond to all correspondence (whether by email, voicemail or postal mail) within three days of when I receive it, although circumstances (e.g., vacations) will sometimes make this impossible. If ten days pass without my responding, it probably means that your inquiry failed to arrive and you may wish to try again.